Struck in DCis keeping count: Together, we can make the District safer for pedestrians and cyclists by holding motorists and the city accountable.

A protest at the National’s game over Arizona’s “papers please” law is covered by Carlos in DC. He produced an excellent video that includes an interview with an organizer as well as a number of random interviews with people at the game about their views on the law.

You know what qualities will get posts highlighted in the DC Blogs Noted section: good writing, timely topics, interesting topics, great humor, good writing, tales of dates gone comically bad, a well picked fight, good writing, and better writing.

What you may not know is that there are certain things that will get a DC Blogs Contributing Editor to close their browser window as quickly as they can find a button to click. To be sure, exceptions (for truly spectacular writing, or puppies) are made but they are infrequent. Recently I, your friendly neighborhood Restaurant Refugee, was discussing this matter with fellow contributing editor, LiLu, and we decided that we would share our:

“Completely Subjective, Unsanctioned by Other Editors, Reasons Why We Disqualify (even where we generally approve of the content) Your Blog”

Disclaimer: Yes we were both drinking when this gChat conversation took place

On Music & Eye-Painful Layouts

RR: so which is more offensive: music or white text on black background

LiLu: well wait, because honestly, I can beat white text on a black background; wait for it… PINK… or neon of any color on a black/dark background.

LiLu: while white is blinding and definitely migraine inducing on a black background, neon is just offensive.

RR: you should know that I really just said “eghewwwwwww” out loud

LiLu: did you spew wine? Be careful, that’s a nice shirt.

RR: never spewing wine, I got priorities and all

LiLu: I’ll break a nose before my wine glass.

RR: ok, so the bright text dark background trumps white against dark, however, I would still contend that music is more offensive and more likely to get me to ignore you

LiLu: Though the overall blasphemy against human eyes stands, I agree. Because while I groan when I come across an offensively decorated layout, auto music actually causes a knee jerk SHUT IT DOWN, GET AWAY, OMG SAVE ME JEEBUS reaction and I immediately “x” every tab I have open just to make it STOP.

LiLu: these aren’t thoughts… these are animalistic reactions… I also throw up a bit in my mouth out of fear

RR: Pavlovian

LiLu: exactly.

RR: and I am with you on closing every tab just to make it go away. ok, but we have to move along

LiLu: ok, ok

RR: and we should note that we are more sensitive to the eye-straining thing because we read 100s of blogs on the day we prepare

LiLu: when I’m scanning through a thousand blogs that day, a simple, clean aesthetic will win my heart in an instant, even if you write about the turkey sandwich you had for lunch.

Grammar & Structure Issues

RR: ok, for me number 3 would be grammar

LiLu: oh YES. I agree. And I’m not talking “your” and “you’re,” whatever. Not all of us graduated vocational school. I’m talking real disaster, run on sentences, scattered with “lols”, incomplete thoughts, incoherency… because there is SO MUCH OF IT.

RR: I mean if I come across something with offensive-to-my-sensibilities grammar in the first paragraph, I have just closed a tab.

RR: and I am glad that you made the distinction between the mistakes of copy editing and the misguided grammarians who think that using “your” instead of “you’re” makes you a bad person

LiLu: exactly… that’s still legible, albeit incorrect. I can still get the message you’re trying to convey

LiLu: more importantly, MAKE paragraphs. And use your “return” when you start a new thought.

Quick Aside

RR: we should also take a minute to note that we want to love every blog we read. Besides saving us time in the search for 5-8 noteworthy post, we just want to like them.

LiLu: we do! I really do! I am LOOKING to promote you, not to hate

RR: exactly

LiLu: but… some of them make it so hard. They should be saying something they want to say, not because you want to attract followers/etc; it should be genuine. Creative, honest, maybe even entertaining, or thought provoking… or are we getting too deep?

RR: that’s never what she said

LiLu: HA.

Another Quick Aside

LiLu: by the way, partial posts!!! That doesn’t affect us so much as we choose… but people HATE it like whoa.

RR: partial posts drive me nuts but I might include both if I cross it on the second day, the first day, forget about it

LiLu: agreed

RR: so let’s include it as a “by the by” kinda thing

LiLu: like “this does not affect OUR choosing, but it does not go unnoticed that… blah blah blah

RR: zackly… that’s perfect

Offensive Language

RR: ok, but what about offensive language; and for the record, [common euphemism for sex] is not offensive

LiLu: right, I would say it’s more like when it ventures towards SOCIALLY offensive like gay or racial or whatever. If a post says “negro” in it, I am probably not going to feel ok about linking to it

RR: zackly… so sayeth the white girl

LiLu: well exactly, I know my role, you can’t comment on something unless you ARE. It’s the unspoken rule.

RR: but you know even I, the socially conscious and aware black guy, am touchy about including some racially sensitive/charged things

LiLu: agreed

RR: it’s a careful line, but we both agree that generally socially offensive things are over that line

LiLu: right, unless you’re commenting that it’s socially offensive.

RR: zackly, if you write a post condemning the inherent misogyny of PUA blogs, that’s commentary; if you write a PUA blog, go [expletive deleted] yourself

LiLu: yeah [all kinds of words deleted]

Self Important Blogging

RR: ok – anything else that really drives you nuts and will make you quickly ignore a post for inclusion?

LiLu: people who apologize for having not blogged, it’s so self important. This is BLOGGING, not rocket surgery.

RR: yup

LiLu: no one cares. Just write or don’t write. There’s no boss watching over you.

RR: when the first thing I read is “sorry I haven’t posted in a while” I close that tab faster than [way inside joke about a shrill voiced harpy]

Beauty in unexpected places can change the course of your entire day, as And Now, Anacostia shows us.

Cafeteria food isn’t something ordinarily remembered fondly, but DC Public Schools’ new pilot program with the DC Central Kitchen just might do something to change that. The Slow Cook brings us the details.

Ah, the joys of apartment hunting in the metro area. Cupcakes and Shoes brings back those memories with a saga that any DC renter can commiserate with.

…speaking of Metro, ever wonder why so many people in this area have so much animus for Metro? The author of the Extraordinary Observations blog, and contributor to Greater Greater Washington, is a recent transplant from Cleveland has been asking the question and has some theories. The GGW post has some additional thoughts on the matter as well.

Ever wonder why more celebrities don’t live in DC? In truth, the question never crossed the mind of this DC native and contributing editor, however, the Hill is Home made the question compelling and in an open-letter of sorts to would be Washington Celebrities, offers an itemized list of reasons to move here.

If you heard that the annual BlogHer conference was going to be held in New York City this year and like me feared for the well being of the Big Apple with thousands of bloggers converging there… well according to LivitLuvit’s post conference reporting your concerns were only slightly misplaced. Part I and Part II of her BlogHer recaps provide a good sense of her experience.

The highly anticipated TBD.com, a new one-stop shop “TV station and website that delivers local news and community information from the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. region,” has officially launched. Affiliate blogs On Frozen Blog and U Street Girl give their impressions of the new site.

We’ve all heard by now that vampire author Anne Rice has “quit Christianity”. The Arenaexamines her reasons, especially in light of her qualifying statement that while she may be leaving the religion, she is still following “Christ”.

Is the number of crazy and angry people on the Metro increasing?DC Universe reports, in gripping detail, a fight he witnessed. Excerpt: If you’ve seen enough episodes of Cops, you know there are two kinds of women in the world: The kind who take it when hit, and the kind who hit back. This woman fell into the latter category.

Feeling a little blasé about living in the District? Try thinking from a tourist’s perspective. (I know; scary, right?) Karen at Living Like a Tourist has some pretty good ideas.

One Drop Rule gives us a great DC luminary story. Who needs movie stars when you can have the Mayor for Life stroll into your dinner out?

Chris at Rude Cactus captures a charming (and unnerving, if you’re over a certain age) moment: twenty-first century kids interacting with twentieth-century technology.

In honor of last night’s big premiere, Marissa rains all over your Real Housewives of DC parade over at The Anti DC.

It’s the dog days of summer, which send a lot of us running to our flip-flops as a way of staying cool. Here’s a cautionary tale from DC Yogi, reminding us that we could probably do better as far as our feet are concerned.

Have you heard of the three-dimensional fast bus? Or a bus for cars? Read Commuter Page blog about the Chinese innovative design: “In an effort to go green and relieve congestion without widening roads, the Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment company is developing a “3D Express Coach” (also known as a “three-dimensional fast bus”). One would wonder if this would work in DC?

“I was a young speechwriter in D.C. I’d just published my first book. And I’d left the 9-to-5 to open up a sneaker boutique in Downtown Austin. When you put it that way, I guess I have been mildly successful for having just turned 27.” Writes Joah in his blog Diatribes by Joah about his definition of success

In her blog the Edited life, Gwen writes about her experience attending the Romance Writers of America 30th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida last week. In Conference call, she shares tips and stories.

About online dating Restaurant refugee writes: “Even though this scenario is entirely fictional, you would probably do a little google-stalking and some facebook searching. So suppose that even the most cursory of e-snooping demonstrates that the new object of your hypothetical fascination proves to be a nutter… like really a nutter.” Read entire blog: Something good that’s really something bad

The Disaffected Scanner Jockey spent a weekend in Maine and came back with a top ten list of opening sentences to describe her experience. My personal favorite: “Keep a close eye on your camera when your drunk tablemate is wearing a kilt. You may get a nasty surprise.”